Van der Merwe is buzzing over Scotland debut

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: South African born wing Duhan van der Merwe will make his debut against Georgia on Friday as he looks forward to an extended test career.

Van der Merwe, who was named the PRO14 Players’ Player of the season, has dominated PRO14 ranks with his pace and power and will be hoping to turn the same form into points on the international stage.

The brother of Springbok hooker Akker, Van der Merwe has dominated the stats pages in the PRO14 tournament for quite a while. Just last season there was no doubt as to the impact he had with the ball for his club Edinburgh and it was not to go unnoticed by the Scottish selectors.

The 25-year-old has impressed all season topping out the Opta stats charts for Defenders Beaten (76), Metres Made (906) and Clean Breaks (31) while scoring seven tries and setting up two.

Additionally, Van der Merwe’s average of 5.6 Defenders Beaten per game set a new record for the PRO14 as he broke his own existing record of 5.3 that he set in 2017/18.

Van der Merwe, who was named after Irish folk musician Johnny Duhan after the family spent time in Ireland, spent his junior rugby at the Blue Bulls before signing for Montpellier and spending a season there.

But the move to Edinburgh was where he excelled, as he scored 31 tries now in 58 appearances and is a firm favourite in the Scottish capital.